Real-time voice paging voice augmented caller id / ring tone alias

ABSTRACT

A communication device and method can include one or more processors operatively coupled to memory and an audible output device, where the one or more processors receive a call from a calling party that includes caller identification information and a voice paging message associated with the caller identification information, presenting the caller identification information, presenting the voice paging message as an alias of or to a ring tone or interleaved with the ring tone before the call from the calling party is answered or rejected. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is an utility patent application that claims thepriority benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 61/889,002entitled “Real-Time Voice Paging Voice Augmented Caller ID/Ring ToneAlias” filed on 9 Oct. 2013, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The Application alsoclaims priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/493,270entitled Methods and Systems for Voice Augmented Caller ID/Ring ToneAlias filed on 22 Sep. 2014 which claims the priority benefit ofProvisional Patent Application No. 61/880,963 entitled “Methods andSystems for Voice Augmented Caller ID/Ring Tone Alias” filed on 22 Sep.2013, the entire contents of which are all incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

FIELD

The embodiments herein generally disclose methods and systems for calleridentification in modern communications technologies. Application of theembodiments can apply to all forms mobile and non-mobile forms ofcommunications devices including wearable and body-borne computing. Someembodiments incorporate voice or audio clips in the calleridentification procedure during a call setup of a telephone call. Someembodiments incorporate real-time voice paging voice augmented caller IDas a ring tone alias.

BACKGROUND

Speech signals include information about the creator of the speech. Itis well researched that humans can identify individuals from theirvoice, suggesting providing the existence of a perceptual representationof voice identity. The spoken word contains information about: who iscalling as well as the emotional state of the speaker; it can signalhappiness, dissatisfaction, urgency, anger, stress, and many moreconditions reflective of the state of mind of the speaker. Additionallygender, age, ethnicity and nationality can also be discovered by one'svoice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The embodiment and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1 depicts a network scenario of party A (the calling party) callingparty B (the called party) and submitting a voice audio clip to beplayed at the B party device during the ringing cycle in accordance withthe embodiments;

FIG. 2 depicts the action and call flow for the illustration in FIG. 1in accordance with the embodiments;

FIG. 3 a depicts the voice and signaling paths for a gateway circuitmethod in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 b depicts the voice and signaling paths for a gateway InternetProtocol (IP) method in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 c depicts the voice and signaling paths for an application toapplication or App-to-App method between mobile phones in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a state chart for a terminating mobile device (forthe called party) in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a state chart for an originating mobile device (for acalling party) in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a state chart for a gateway in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart of delivery of information in a scenariowith real-time voice paging voice augmented caller ID using a gatewaywith circuit delivery in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 8 depicts a flow chart of delivery of information in a scenariowith real-time voice paging voice augmented caller ID using anApp-to-App feature in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In today's telephony communication systems information about who iscalling as well as the emotional state of the speaker as well as gender,age, ethnicity and nationality is not available to the recipient (calledparty) of a phone call during the call setup phase (telephony signalingprotocol terminology), that is during the ringing phase of the arrivingcall before the call is answered.

If a voice or speech or audio clip of the calling party were presentedduring the ringing phase, the called party would be able to potentiallyidentify and recognize a speaker from memory who is calling and obtainan impression of the caller's state of mind or the potential subjectmatter of the upcoming call and therefore be able to make abetter-educated decision whether to answer the call. For example,consider a case whereby the called party is engaged in a businessmeeting and a call arrives from his or her spouse, a few seconds of acalling party's voice could reflect a possible stress situation of thespouse that would require the immediate attention of the called party.Conceivably there are many other situations where the receiving party(recipient or called party) could benefit from hearing a voice sample ofthe calling party without the need to look at or to touch thecommunication device before the call is actually answered.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 in accordance with an embodiment caninitiate a call from Party A to Party B using a calling party's phone ordevice 101 to dial and initiate a call to the called party's device 106.The device 101, for example, can connect to the device 106 via an accesspoint 102 within range of the device 101, a telephony network 103 usinga call server 104, and an access point 105 within range of the device106. The telephony network, access points, and devices can be part of awired system, a wireless system or a combination of both. Theinteraction at the call server 104 in such an example can include: 1)receiving the call initiation as a result of the calling party dialingthe called party's phone number; 2) sending a prompt to the callingparty for a voice input (or other input such as a picture or video ofthe calling party); 3) recording and storing of the voice input (and/orother input); 4) providing call signaling to one or both of the calledparty and calling party; 5) establishing a connection and requestingtransmission of a voice input or audio clip (and/or other input); 6)transmitting the voice input (and/or other input) to the called party'sdevice 106; and 7) playing the voice input (and/or other input) at thecalled party's device as an alias for a ring tone or play the voiceinput (and/or other input) alternately with the ring tone until thecalled party answer's their device (106) or rejects the call.

Furthermore, the calling party could transmit a still photo or video tothe called party instead of or in addition to the voice clip.

Most telephony service providers today offer caller-ID services fortelephone users. These services enable a user to identify the nameand/or the phone number of the caller before choosing to accept thecall. It would be a significant enhancement to the telephonecommunications functionality if the presented caller-ID were eitheraccompanied by a voice audio clip of the caller and played by acoustictransducers at the called party's communication device as an alias forthe ring tone or interleaved with the ringing tone before the calledparty answers the call. Further note, in some embodiments, the message(whether voice or video) can be recorded at the time of the callorigination. In some embodiment, the message (voice or video) can bepre-recorded at some point before the call origination. In yet anotherembodiment, the voice message or video message can be captured andpresented live or virtually live and presented live to the called party.In any event, the voice or video message in some embodiments is“obtained” or retrieved or selected at the time of the call origination.In other words, “obtaining” the voice or video message means that themessage is being currently retrieved from a previous recording, obtainedfrom a current recording, or currently streamed to the called party.

Caller identification is a telephony feature that is widely deployed bytelephony service providers. The call feature server or telephonyswitching system obtains and sends the caller identification (of thecalling party) to the call receiving device (called party) during thecall setup and ringing phase and is subsequently displayed on thecommunication device of the called party. In particular mobile phoneshave the ability and are programmed to receive the caller ID in form ofa protocol message and display the calling name and number during theringing cycle. This is standard behavior for today's generation ofmobile phones or cell phones, which are connected over a Radio AccessNetwork (RAN) or via VoIP protocols. The call server or switching systemdelivers the caller ID information either by encoding the information ina VOiP protocol, or over the RAN protocol. The mobile device uponreceiving the caller ID information includes the data in the callannouncing screen during the ringing cycle.

Some embodiments herein create an opportunity for the calling party toobtain a voice audio clip that is transported over the telephony networkor internet to the called party during the call setup phase and which isreplayed at the called party's device as a stand alone ring tone aliasor interleaved with the ring tone of the incoming call. The microphonebuilt into a phone or other enables the typical capture of the voiceclip.

In another embodiment, the calling party hears an audible ring-back toneand then (experiences) what they perceive as their call being answered,and thus begins to speak. During the initial speaking phase, the callingparty's audio (captured by a microphone at the calling party's device,for example) is actually being played back to the called party deviceeven thought the called party hasn't yet physically answered theirphone. The called party can either choose to answer the phone andengage/continue the conversation, or ignore the calling party's message.If answered, the calling party and optionally the called party wouldreceive an indicator that the live voice conversation is ready to ensueand then the live conversation between the calling party and calledparty would ensue. The indicator that the live voice conversation isready can be a text message, iconic symbol, a light, a tactile alert oran auditory signal indicative of the live message.

In another embodiment, the calling party could hear a message and orunique sound or other form of indicator (as described above includingtext, iconic, light, tactile, auditory, etc.) advising them that thecalled party's phone is playing their audio but that the called partyhasn't accepted the calling party's call.

In another embodiment, the calling party audio clip could be sent to anearphone thus allowing the called party to discreetly audition thecalling party's voice clip.

In another embodiment, the calling party may use this feature to conveya short message to remind, or otherwise covey to the called party anaction that should or shouldn't take place. In one example, a childcould simply verbalize to their parent or other caregiver/friend thatthey are going to a friend's house after school. In this scenario, thecalled party could hear the child's voice and decide if they need totake action or not. In a manner, this service operates as an alert withpersonalized information incorporated into in. The personalizedinformation could be audio, photo, video or text. In other words, thecalling party can modify the ring tone heard by the called party. Thismodification could comprise replaying a voice message played by thecalling party.

In another embodiment, the calling party would hear or otherwise betexted a message confirming that their voice/audio message was played(auditioned) and otherwise that the called party was available and/or onthe called party's device.

In another embodiment, the calling party could utilize speech, voice orother forms of audio to be sent over an email system, which are thenplayed automatically on the recipient's phone.

In another embodiment, the calling party could utilize speech, voice orother forms of audio to be sent over a text system, which are thenplayed automatically on the recipient's phone.

In another embodiment, a photo or video clip that the calling partyposts, is presented during the ringing phase as an alias of the ringtone, and the called party would then be able to potentially identifyand recognize the calling party from the still photo or video clip andtherefore be able to make a better-educated decision whether to answerthe call.

In another embodiment, depending on the characteristics of the callerID, the call can be automatically rejected, or routed to a differentnumber (including answer message associated with this class of callerID). Examples of characteristics that can be analyzed from the voice orvideo message (and/or caller ID if a pre-existing profile or retrievableprofile exists) include: age, nationality, ethnicity, or temperament, ofthe calling party. Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computerprograms encoded on a computer storage medium, are described forcollecting, transporting and replaying a voice audio clip of a callerobtained (retrieved or recorded or streamed to) at the time ofinitiating a telephone call, at the called party's communication deviceinterleaved with the ring tone and in addition to displaying caller-ID.Note, the embodiments herein are distinguishable from retrievingpictures or other data stored in association with a called party'sphonebook or contact book when detecting a caller ID.

In some embodiments, the method can be realized for packet switchingsystems or circuit switching systems or both packet and circuitswitching systems.

In an embodiment and referring to FIG. 2, after the caller or callingparty A dials the called party B at 201 and the system confirms partyB′s number as a valid number at step 202, the calling party is promptedduring the call setup phase to submit a brief voice audio clip directedto the called party at step 203. The calling party provides an input(e.g., “Steve, we must talk”) at 204 and the voice audio clip isrecorded and stored by the originating device at step 205. The systemcan invite the called party to the call and the called party can confirmbeing ready at 206. At the point of the call setup procedure, when thecalled party device is instructed to apply ringing (at step 208), a newindication in the ringing message (at step 207) will inform the calledparty device that a voice package is waiting for delivery. The calledparty device then may establish a speech connection (at step 209) withthe calling party device, which is used to transport the voice audioclip to the called party device (at step 210). The receiving device thenmay interrupt the ring tone and play the voice clip as an alias for thering tone at step 211 or alternatively interleave the ringing tone withthe voice content of the transported voice audio clip and play the voicecontent over the devices speaker system (at step 212). At 213, thecalled party is alerted and can optionally answer before a phoneconversation ensues.

In some embodiments, the voice audio clip may be obtained through a2-stage call initiation procedure and stored in computer storage memoryof the switching system or one of its dedicated storage systems. Thisspecifically applies to scenarios where the originating device lacksintelligence or memory for storing a voice audio clip.

In some embodiments, the voice audio clip may be encoded in telephonymessages and protocols and transported to the called device as part ofthe call setup procedure, and be replayed by the receiving device duringthe ringing cycle interleaved with the ringing tone in addition to thecaller ID notification display. The voice audio clip may be replayedeither before or during the ringing cycle.

In an embodiment, a method includes modification of the telephony callsetup protocols comprising:

-   -   a) Notification of the called party that in addition to applying        ringing a voice packet is waiting for retrieval (207).    -   b) Establishing a transport connection for the voice audio clip        (209).    -   c) Establishing a session with the caller of a phone call to        obtain and store the voice audio clip in computer memory (203).

In an embodiment, a method includes identifying a caller associated withan incoming call from an originating telecommunications device anddisplaying the calling number and/or name at the called device.

Methods and systems disclosed herein provide for a telephony protocolexpansion to include the collection, transport, and delivery of acallers voice audio clip to the called party interleaved with the ringtone.

The features of the embodiments, which are believed to be novel, are setforth with particularity in the appended claims. The embodiments maybest be understood by reference to the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

While the specification concludes with the claims defining the featuresof the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theembodiments may be better understood from a consideration of thefollowing description in conjunction with the drawings figures, in whichlike reference numerals are carried forward.

The terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting butrather to provide an understandable description of the invention.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defied as one or more thanone. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as at least a secondor more. The terms “including” and/or “having” as used herein, aredefined as comprising (i.e. open transition). The term “coupled” or“operatively coupled” as used herein, is defined as connected, althoughnot necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

As described above, FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of thesystem for obtaining, storing, transporting, and replaying audio clipsat the called device of a telephone call. Calling party A dials calledparty B and provides a voice audio clip in a 2-stage call initiation(First: Dialing, Second: Speaking), By design, the illustration in FIG.1 does not necessarily depict photos, videos, or other metadata, butvarious embodiments can include such various inputs indicative of thecaller or calling party attempting to reach the called party.

FIG. 2 provides a flow chart of individual steps that lead to thedelivery of a voice audio clip to party B interleaved with ringing andcaller ID display.

Example embodiments of the present invention are described herein in thecontext of systems, methods and computer program products for obtaining,recording, transporting, and playing back audio clips of a shortduration (e.g. 5 sec). A telephony subscriber in the process of making acall may be prompted to provide a voice audio clip destined for thecalled party (203). The resulting audio clip may be stored either on thecaller's device or in computer memory of a switching system. Telephonyprotocols and signaling technologies are modified to transport (209,210)the voice audio clip to the called party during the call setup phase.Upon receiving the audio clip, the called party may interleave ringingtones and the audio clip content during the ringing cycle (212) of thesystem, and in addition to the display of caller ID information (208).

In one exemplary embodiment, the voice audio clip may be obtained fromthe caller of a telephone call (203). After the caller has input thedestination telephone number and after validation of the number by theswitching systems (202) the caller may be prompted to submit an audioclip intended for the called party (203). The clip may be temporarilystored in local memory of the device or in computer storage memory ofthe switching systems or in a dedicated adjunct server.

In one exemplary embodiment, when the destination device (at the calledparty) or an access system for the destination device is instructed toinitiate a ringing cycle, a new telephony protocol element (message orsignal) may inform the destination device or its access system that anaudio clip is waiting to be delivered to the destination device (207).In response, the destination device or its access system may initiate atransport connection (209) to the calling device or to the system wherethe audio clip is stored and receive the clip over the establishedtransport connection (210). Upon receiving the audio clip thedestination device or its access system may replay the clip repeatedlyas an alias for the ringtone or may replay the clip and interleaved withthe ring tone until the called party answers or rejects the call.

In one exemplary embodiment, the maximum duration for the voice audioclip may be administrable.

Some embodiments can include methods, systems, and apparatus, includingcomputer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for collectingand transporting a voice audio clip of a telephony caller acquired atthe time of initiating a telephone call, and playing the voice audioclip at the called party's communication device before the call isanswered or interleaved with a ringing tone and in addition to caller-IDnotification, including:

-   -   a. Updating telephony signaling and packet protocols for        notification, collection, and transport of telephony caller        originated voice audio clip(s).    -   b. Storing telephony caller originated voice audio clips at the        caller's communication device or at a component of the        connecting switching systems    -   c. Updating telephony operational procedures for the        establishment of a communication session with the originator of        a telephone call to obtain a voice audio clip.    -   d. Updating telephony operational procedures for retrieval and        transport of a caller originated voice audio clip.    -   e. Updating telephony procedures for the replay of a voice audio        clip at the communication device of a called party.    -   f. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to receive a voice audio clip without a        ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.    -   g. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to interleave a received voice audio clip with        a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.

Some embodiments include methods, systems, and apparatus, includingcomputer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for collectingand transporting a voice audio clip of a telephony caller acquired atthe time of initiating a telephone call, and transporting a still photoand or video at the called party's communication device before the callis answered or interleaved with a ringing tone and in addition tocaller-ID notification, comprising:

-   -   a. Updating telephony signaling and packet protocols for        notification, collection, and transport of telephony caller        originated still photo and or video clip.    -   b. Storing telephony caller originated still photo and or video        clips at the caller's communication device or at a component of        the connecting switching systems    -   c. Updating telephony operational procedures for the        establishment of a communication session with the originator of        a telephone call to obtain a still photo and or video.    -   d. Updating telephony operational procedures for retrieval and        transport of a caller originated still photo and or video.    -   e. Updating telephony procedures for the replay of a still photo        and or video at the communication device of a called party.    -   f. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to receive a still photo and or video without        a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.    -   g. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to interleave a received still photo and or        video with a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the        associated call is answered or rejected.

In some embodiments, methods, systems, or devices can have a maximumduration of the voice audio clip that is administrable. The methods andsystems above can also apply to packet switched or circuit switchedtelephony or both. In some embodiments, permission for which parties areable to update the telephony signaling and packet protocols is givenautomatically by an analysis of the called parties address book. In someembodiments, permission for which parties are able to update thetelephony signaling and packet protocols is given manually the calledparty. In some embodiments depending on the characteristics of thecalling ID, the call can be automatically rejected, or routed to adifferent number (including answer message associated with this class ofcaller ID). Examples of characteristics include: age, nationality/ethnicity, or temperament of the calling party.

In some embodiments a communication device can include an audible outputdevice, a memory having computer instructions, and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory and the audible outputdevice. The execution of the computer instructions can cause the one ormore processors to perform operations including: receiving a call from acalling party that includes caller identification information and avoice or video message associated with the caller identificationinformation; presenting the caller identification information; andpresenting the voice message or video message as an alias to a ring toneor interleaved with the ring tone before the call from the calling partyis answered. In some embodiments, the communication device is a mobilephone. In some embodiments, the communication device is one among alandline phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebookcomputer, a tablet computer, or a phablet computer. It can also be asmart phone, a smart watch, an earphone, or a body worn computer orwearable computing device as further defined below.

In some embodiments, the voice or video message is a recorded voice orrecorded video message retrieved or obtained or recorded at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party. In someembodiments, the one or more processors presents the voice messageobtained at the time of initiating the call to the called party by thecalling party as the alias for the ring tone presented at the audibleoutput device for the communication device. In some embodiments, the oneor more processors presents the voice message obtained at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party interleavedwith the ring tone presented at the audible output device for thecommunication device. In some embodiments, a display coupled to the oneor more processors presents the video message obtained at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party as thealias for the ring tone presented at the communication device whenreceiving the call from the calling party. In some embodiments, theaudible output device and a display coupled to the one or moreprocessors presents the video message obtained at the time of initiatingthe call to the called party by the calling party interleaved with thering tone presented at the communication device.

In some embodiments, the communication device further includes a displaycoupled to the one or more processors wherein the video message is aphotograph taken (or retrieved or otherwise obtained) at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party which ispresented as the alias for the ring tone at the communication devicewhen receiving the call from the calling party. In some embodiments, thecommunication device further includes a display coupled to the one ormore processors wherein the recorded video message is a photographretrieved or obtained or taken at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party which is presented with the ring toneat the communication device in a repeating cycle when receiving the callfrom the calling party until the call is answered or rejected.

In some embodiments, the one or more processors analyze thecharacteristics of the caller identification information and the voicemessage or the video message and routes the message based on theanalysis.

In some embodiments, a method at a communication device can includereceiving a call from a calling party that includes calleridentification information and a voice or video message associated withthe caller identification information; presenting the calleridentification information via a presentation device operatively coupledto the communication device; and presenting via the presentation devicethe voice message or video message as an alias to a ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party is answered orrejected. In some embodiments, the presentation device is a speaker, adisplay, or both. In some embodiments, the voice or video message isretrieved or recorded or otherwise obtained at the time of initiatingthe call to the called party by the calling party.

In some embodiments, the method presents the voice message retrieved orrecorded or otherwise obtained at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party as the alias for the ring tonepresented at the presentation device for the communication device. Insome embodiments, the method presents a voice message obtained at thetime of initiating the call to the called party by the calling partyinterleaved with the ring tone or presented in the repeating cycle atthe presentation device for the communication device. In someembodiments, the method analyzes the characteristics of the calleridentification information and the voice message or the video messageand routes the message based on the analysis.

In some embodiments, a system for communicating with a communicationdevice that presents a ring tone and caller identification informationincludes a memory having computer instructions and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory. The execution of thecomputer instructions causes the one or more processors to performoperations including originating a call from a calling party to a calledparty that includes caller identification information and a messagehaving a voice message, or video message or photograph associated withthe caller identification information obtained at a time of the callorigination; and transmitting the caller identification information andthe message to the called party for presentation at the communicationdevice of the called party. In some embodiments, the calleridentification information and the message is presented at thecommunication device of the called party as an alias to the ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party answers or rejectsthe call. In some embodiments, the system is a telephone communicationsystem for a landline or a mobile phone. In some embodiments, the one ormore processors analyze the characteristics of the caller identificationinformation and the message and routes or rejects the message based onthe analysis.

The system can be housed in any type of Wearable/Body-Borne computing.The system can further represent a single device or family of devicesconfigured in a master-slave, master- master arrangement for example inan smartphone, smart watch or optical head-mounted display connectedphysically, optically or wirelessly to a either anotherWearable/Body-Borne computer or an earpiece that may or may not containa microphone or bone conduction pickup. A few definitions follow below.

Wearable and Body-Borne Computing can include: The field of wearablecomputing, however, extends beyond devices worn only outside the body.“Body-Borne Computing” or “wearable computing” is used as a substitutefor “Wearable Computing” so as to include all manner of technology thatis on or in the body, e.g. implantable devices as well as portabledevices like smartphones.

A term that refers to computer-powered devices or equipment that can beworn by a user, including clothing, watches, glasses, shoes and similaritems. Wearable computing devices can range from providing veryspecific, limited features like heart rate monitoring and pedometercapabilities to advanced “smart” functions and features similar to thosein smartphones, smart watches, optical head-mounted displays andhelmet-mounted displays. These more advanced wearable computing devicescan typically enable the wearer to take and view pictures or video, hearaudio signals, read text messages and emails, respond to voice commands,browse the web and more.

Acoustic transducers can include: acoustic, bone conduction,transdermal, magnetic, optical, Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer(EMAT), Piezoelectric, Magnetostrictive transducers. These transducersin general can either make contact or be used in a non-contactarrangement such as with omnidirectional Transducers or directionaltransducers).

Microphones constitute: An acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensorthat converts sound or vibrations into an optical or electrical signal.Microphones use electromagnetic induction (dynamic microphone),capacitance change (condenser microphone), piezoelectric generation, orlight modulation to produce an electrical voltage signal from mechanicalvibration. Microphones can also include an ear canal microphone, whichis capable of capturing a voice directly from the user ear canal. Theseare often referred to as bone conduction microphones.

Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through thebones of the skull. Bone conduction transmission can be used withindividuals with normal or impaired hearing.

Earphones can include: Earphones, canal phones, and headphones that canbe mono or stereo as well as binaural. In addition, the term applies tohearing aids such as Behind The Ear (BTE devices). Earphones can alsoinclude in Concha, inn Canal or personal sound amplification products orPSAP's (assisted listening devices). An Earphone may also be consideredan electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects theimpulses from the stimulator and sends them to different regions of theauditory nerve.

A Gateway MSC or MSC is a mobile switching center that receives incomingcalls from other carriers for a specific group of dialed Mobile DialingNumbers (MDNs) that the wireless carrier hosts. Dialed MDNs that are notspecific to a wireless carrier (e.g. they have been ported via theNumber Portability (NP) database) are assigned an LRN (Location RoutingNumber) that is specific to the ported-to wireless carrier's MSC. AGateway MSC is responsible for locating the dialed MDN and obtaining itsInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) by query to the HomeLocation Register/Home Subscriber Server (HLR/HSS) and then completingthe call as directed by the services identified in the HLR (includingvoice paging).

HLR is the Home Location Register that stores subscriber information(e.g., what services are subscribed to by the subscriber).

HSS is a combination of HLR with authentication, authorization andaccounting (AAA) for combined circuit/IP wireless networks.

The Internal Mobile network subscription identifying number (IMSI) isalso known as MIN on cdma2000 networks. The IMSI Identifies the operatoras well as the subscription.

A mobile directory number (MDN) is a phone number assigned to a wirelessdevice. With number portability, this no longer directly identifies theoperator.

A Network Answer is the answer signal that passes from the mobilethrough the network and triggers a voice path connection and usually thestart of billing.

Signaling System 7 or SS7 is the internal telecom signaling network usedin both wireline and wireless systems. SS7 is similar in concept to IP.Note that often SS7 runs over IP instead of the SS7 physical layer.

User Answer: If a call is auto-answered, an “Answer” button can bepresented to the user to trigger an action that simulates a networkanswer (even though that has, without the knowledge of the user, alreadyoccurred.)

A voice page or VPG is a voice recorded from the calling party that isdelivered to the terminating party (or called party) in real time beforethe User (or called party) answers.

A Voice Page List or VPL is a list of voice pages and meta-data, similarto a list of text messages.

In some embodiments, some of the elements of a real-time voice pagingservice are incorporated into the concept of the ring tone alias. Insome of the basic embodiments, the caller can be prompted to starttalking while the phone at the number they dialed has just startedringing. The voice is played through to the called party (or terminatingparty), for a limited time, and the terminating party has the option toanswer the call, disconnect, divert to voice mail or simply wait for thetime limit of the message, at which point normal no-answer handling willoccur.

Possible delivery and signaling methods include the following:

-   -   a. 1. App-to-App. Both originating and terminating party have        downloaded an App for this feature. See FIG. 3C.    -   b. 2. Gateway with IP delivery. The terminating mobile's        operator has a gateway with both circuit switched and IP        connections. Voice paging and signaling are transmitted over IP.        The terminating party has an App to control call processing        within the device. See FIG. 3B.    -   c. 3. Gateway with Circuit delivery. The terminating mobile's        operator has a gateway with only circuit switched connections.        Voice pages are delivered over the circuit connection. Signaling        may be via tones or by indirect triggering of SS7 messages. See        FIG. 3A.    -   d. 4. Text to voice in phone. Text messages received by the App        in the phone are converted to voice.    -   e. 5. Text to voice in the SMSC. The terminating party's SMSC        converts an SMS message from text to voice and delivers the        voice over an IP connection.

Methods for controlling service possibly include:

-   -   a. 1. If the service involves the terminating party's wireless        operator then they will have overall control over the service        based on subscription by a customer.    -   b. 2. The terminating party will have an On/Off switch for the        service.    -   c. 3. In the App-to-App version, the originating party will also        be able to turn the service off or on.    -   d. 4. The service can be turned on automatically when the speed        of the party is greater than a set amount.    -   e. 5. The service can be automatically turned off if the ringer        is set to silent or vibrate without a headphone connected.    -   f. 6. The service can be automatically turned off based on        roaming information (e.g. outside home carrier, outside home        country).    -   g. 7. The service, if turned off, can be turned on for one call        by an additional button for an incoming call (along with the        normal buttons to accept or reject the call).

Feedback to the Caller

The feedback to a calling party can be given at various levels based onknowledge of the calling party number and the number of previous timesthey have invoked the service. For unknown parties and those who havenever previously invoked the service, a lengthy introduction can begiven. For those who have called a few times a shorter message can begiven. For those who have called many times no message will be givenbut, in all cases, a special tone will be played. The messages can besimilar to:

-   -   a. 1. “Please let <name recorded at setup> known why they should        answer this call. They will hear you as you talk for up to <time        limit> seconds and they may answer the call if it is safe to do        so.”    -   b. 2. “Leave a voice page for <name recorded at setup>”.

This message can be provided in the preferred language(s) of the calledparty that are supported by their wireless carrier (e.g. English andSpanish in the US, English and French in Canada).

In addition, while the caller is talking, a ring-back tone can be playedfaintly during the voice paging phase. If the call transfers to voicemail, this will stop. Frequent callers will soon realize thesignificance of this.

Actions by and Signals from the Terminating Party

The terminating party may take one of several actions during voicepaging, and each will generate different signals. The word “button”could refer to any user interface object, including gestures or voicecommands.

Answer

Even if the call is auto-answered, the user will still believe the callis unanswered. If the “answer” button is pressed the RAN will beinformed that the call is answered (if not already done) and a specialsignal will be sent to either the originating App or the Gateway via IP,a feature code (e.g. *123) or by tones (MF or DTMF). This will stoprecording of the voice page as the call is now connected normally.

The voice page would normally be discarded at this point (as theterminating party has the opportunity to get the caller to repeatanything they missed), although an option could be provided to retainthe recording.

Disconnect/Divert

This will signal the network to reject the call. In the App-to-Appversion a signal will be sent to the originating App to stop thetransmission of voice packets.

The voice page would normally be discarded at this point (as theterminating party is probably not interested in the call), although anoption could be provided to retain the recording.

The network may well invoke Call-Forward-No-Answer or diversion to VoiceMail in response to this. If the terminating party's operator isproviding the service, coordination with voice mail can be smoother.

Do Nothing:

If the terminating party does nothing, the forwarding of voice packetswill cease after a timeout, along with the provision of muted ringbackto the caller. The caller may be routed to voice mail immediately or, inthe App-to-App case, after an independent call-forward-no-answer timerexpires. The terminating party's mobile will store the voice page in alist, similar to the storage of incoming text messages, where they canbe later played back. Each voice page will be annotated with availableinformation on the calling party, time and duration.

Identified Issues with App-to-App Version

-   -   In the App-to-App version diversion to voice mail occurs        independently of the App. Therefore, if the voice paging timer        is set too long, diversion to voice mail could occur before the        voice paging is completed, which would be confusing and        annoying.    -   In the App-to-App version there needs to be a method to convert        from a phone number (MDN) to an IP address. The easiest way is        to have a “Service Box” with a known domain name/IP address in        the network where all downloaded Apps can register their        associated MDN (external phone number) and IMSI (wireless        network identifier). This introduces security issues (e.g. spam        to people with known MDN).    -   The voice call (unanswered at the time of voice paging) and the        voice paging must be synchronized. A positive signal from the        terminating app must be received before voice pages are        transmitted. The Terminating Mobile must verify that the        incoming call matches (e.g. via calling number ID) the voice        paging information. This may require calling number id.

Identified Issues with Gateway Version:

-   -   Signals need to be sent from the terminating party back to the        gateway (e.g. Reject, User Answer). A simple, old fashioned        approach (given that reverse audio is not yet cut through) is to        use MF/DTMF tones. This avoids the issues with setting up an IP        connection (such as addressing). Another approach would be the        use of feature-codes (e.g. *123) however this introduces        potential incompatibilities such as systems not always sending        the signal back to the HLR, use of the same signal by another        service, and so on.    -   Auto-answer starts the billing clock. However, the operator is        in charge of the call and can decide whether billing starts at        this point, or with user answer. For many users with unlimited,        or almost unlimited, voice plans, this would not be a big issue.        For budget conscious users it could be.    -   The “DB” used by the Gateway MSC could be the Number Portability        database, the HLR/HSS or, the Gateway MSC and Media GW could be        the same device. The best method for this requires further        investigation and may differ between operators and        infrastructure vendors.

Additional Features

-   -   A means to retract the acoustic (voice) page    -   A means to process with acoustic (voice) page utilizing time        compression while preserving original pitch.    -   A means to interface with Social Media thus a tweet, Facebook,        Google+ or other can be acoustically played on the mobile phone.        A TTS engine would then convert the Social media text.    -   A means to interface with email thus sender of an email or other        can be acoustically played on the mobile phone. The email would        be converted by a TTS engine.    -   A means to interface with email thus sender of an text or other        can be acoustically played on the mobile phone. The text would        be converted by a TTS engine.    -   A means to interface for an “Amber” alert whereas the alert can        be acoustically played on the mobile phone. The alert would be        converted by a TTS engine.    -   A means to wake up the phone and for the voice paging system to        be heard if phone was off or if ringer was off or in DND mode    -   A means for the voice paging platform to begin playing the        message with a lower volume than the final volume, thus not to        cause interruption during a users meeting. The volume could        continue to rise during the voice page sequence.    -   A means for the rules on the called party device to allow        specific users to utilize voice paging for any feature such        overriding DND, Volume off as well as turn on phone.    -   A means to activate the phones microphone to automatically be        enabled so the calling party could hear the called party even        though the called party has not answered the phone.

FIG. 3A illustrates the voice and signal paths in a gateway circuitmethod 300 wherein a mobile subscriber unit 302 originates a call andconnects with an serving MSC 308 via an originating MSC 304 and aGateway MSC or mobile gateway 306. The gateway 306 can prompt the callerto leave a page and can also provide a muted ringback in the case thecalling party does not answer the page. When a live or “real-time”paging signal is being provided by the serving MSC 308 to the calledparty at device 310, the device 310 can automatically answer back to theserving MSC 308. Note that voice pages are delivered over a circuitconnection and signaling may be via tones or by indirect triggering ofSS7 messages.

FIG. 3B illustrates the voice and signal paths in a gateway IP method320 where a mobile subscriber unit 302 originates a call and connectswith an serving IP gateway 309 (and bypassing a serving MSC 308) via anoriginating MSC 304 and a Gateway MSC or mobile gateway 306. The gateway306 can prompt the caller to leave a page and can also provide a mutedringback in the case the calling party does not answer the page. When alive or “real-time” paging signal is being provided by the serving IPgateway 309 (via the gateway 306) to the called party at device 310, thedevice 310 can signal back to the serving IP gateway 309 (to the gateway306, the originating MSC 304 and mobile subscriber unit 302. Theterminating mobile's operator can have a gateway with both circuitswitched and IP connections. Voice paging and signaling are transmittedover IP. The terminating party has an App to control call processingwithin the device.

FIG. 3C illustrates the voice and signal paths in a App-to-App method330 where both originating and terminating party have downloaded an Appfor this feature and where an originating IP gateway 312 forwards thevoice page from the originating mobile unit 302 to the terminatingmobile unit 310. The originating IP gateway 312 also serves to send anApp signal back from the terminating mobile unit 310 to the originatingmobile unit 302.

FIG. 4 illustrates the state diagram 400 of a terminating mobile device(such as mobile device 310 in FIGS. 3A-3C) in various embodiments. Atstate 402, the terminating device is idle, at state 404 the device isringing, at state 406, the device is receiving a voice page, and atstate 408 the terminating device can be in a live conversation with theoriginating device. When the terminating device is idle at 402, thedevice can receive at 403 an incoming call causing the device to go intothe ringing state 404. If the device at ringing state 404 rejects at 405the incoming call, then the device returns to the idle state 402. If theterminating device at 407 answers the incoming call (by selecting ananswer button for example) before a voice paging signal starts (at 409),then the terminating device enters into a conversation and into theconversation state 408 and can ignore any voice paging information. Ifthe call is not rejected at the ringing state 404 and not answeredbefore the voice paging signal starts, then the voice paging signalstarts at 409 and the terminal device enters the voice page state 406.In the voice page state 406, if the device at 410 times out or receivesan end signal, then the terminating device returns to the ringing state404 and causes the device to save the voice page message left by thecalling party. In the voice page state 406, if the device at 411 gets adisconnect or reject signal (via a disconnection button for example),then the terminating device returns to the idle state 402 and the callis rejected and the voice paging message left by the calling party iseither discarded or saved. In the voice page state 406, if the device at412 answers the call (after the voice paging signal starts at 409), thenthe terminating device enters into the conversation state 408 and thevoice paging message left by the calling party can either be discardedor saved.

FIG. 5 illustrates the state diagram 500 of an originating mobile device(such as mobile device 302 in FIGS. 3A-3C) in various embodiments usingan App-to-App arrangement. At state 502, the originating device is idle,awaiting the initiation of a call at 503 that would dial a terminatingmobile device using a mobile directory number “B” that would furtherrequest permission for voice paging. Upon initiation of the call at 503,the originating device enters into a conversation state 504. If the callis disconnected at 505 during the conversation state 504, then thedevice returns to the idle state 502. If during the conversation state504, the device is granted permission for voice paging at 507, thedevice prompts the user or the originating device to transmits a voicepage over an IP network and enter a voice paging state 506. During thevoice paging state 506, if at 508 a time out is reached or a signal isreceived from the terminating device to wait for regular callprocessing, then the originating device stops transmitting (orreceiving) voice paging packets and enters into the regular conversationmode or state 504. While in the voice paging state 506, if theoriginating device receives at 509 a disconnect signal, then the call isdisconnected and the originating mobile device returns to an idle stateat 502.

FIG. 6 illustrates the state diagram 600 of a gateway device (such asgateway device 306 in FIGS. 3A and 3B) in various embodiments. Thegateway device enters a prompting state 602 when receiving an incomingcall from a calling (or originating) party with a voice paging servicerequest at 601 that initiates an intersystem call. If an appropriateacknowledgement is automatically received from the called (orterminating) party, the calling party is prompted to start a voicepaging message 603 and recording of voice and transmission of voicepaging packets are sent and feedback can be given back to the callingparty (in the form of a muted ringback for example) as the gatewayenters a voice paging state 604. In the voice paging state 604, if the“answer” button is pressed at 605, the radio access network (RAN) willbe informed that the call is answered (if not already done) and aspecial signal will be sent to the Gateway. This will stop recording ofthe voice page as the call is now connected normally in the conversationstate 606. The voice page would normally be discarded at this point (asthe terminating party has the opportunity to get the caller to repeatanything they missed), although an option could be provided to retainthe recording. In the voice paging state 604, if a timeout signal isreceived at 609 where the terminating party does nothing, the forwardingof voice packets will cease after a timeout, along with the provision ofmuted ringback to the caller. The caller may be routed to voice mailimmediately or, in the App-to-App case, after an independentcall-forward-no-answer timer expires. The terminating party's mobile canstore the voice page in a list, similar to the storage of incoming textmessages, where they can be later played back. Each voice page will beannotated with available information on the calling party, time andduration. In the voice paging state 604, if the gateway receives adivert signal at 607, the network and gateway can invoke aCall-Forward-No-Answer or diversion to Voice Mail in response to thedivert signal. If the terminating party's operator is providing theservice, coordination with voice mail can be smoother.

FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling flow chart in a communication system 700that includes real-time voice paging voice augmented caller id or a ringtone alias using a gateway mobile switching center 706 and a mediagateway 710. Such a system includes a number of components communicatingover various links over various communication protocols. System 700 caninclude an originating or calling party mobile subscriber unit 702(MS-A) communicating with a called or terminating party mobilesubscriber unit 718 (MS-B) via several gateway devices (706 or 710)depending on the type of communication being sent or received. Note thatthe various communication protocols being used in this embodimentinclude voice paging, SS7, IP, and radio communication protocols. Thecalling party unit 702 can initiate a call to the called party unit 718using both voice and SS7 signaling to the gateway MSC 706 via anoriginating MSC 704. The Gateway MSC 706 accesses a database 708 usingthe IP protocol to retrieve service information for the called partyunit 718. The gateway MSC 706 communicates (using voice and SS7signaling) with the media gateway 710 and informs the media gateway 710that a voice paging type of call needs to be processed and the mediagateway 710 proceeds to prompt the calling party unit 702 to provide avoice page. The Gateway MSC 706 also queries a HLR/HSS 712 via the mediagateway 710 as necessary using SS7 signaling. The Media gateway 710communicates with the called party unit 718 via a servicing MSC 716using a number of protocols as shown including SS7 signaling (to andfrom the media gateway 710 and Serving MSC 716), voice paging signaling(from media gateway 710 to serving MSC 716 and from serving MSC 716 tothe called party unit 718), IP protocol signaling (from serving MSC 716to media gateway 710), and over the air radio protocols between theserving MSC 716 and the called party unit 718. The called party unit 718can include one or more applications 720 and a voice paging list 722.The media gateway also communicates with a voice mail server 714 torecord and store voice page messages and other meta-data.

FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling flow chart in a communication system 800that includes real-time voice paging voice augmented caller id or a ringtone alias using a App-to-App communication process for transmitting andreceiving voice paging information between a calling (or originating)party unit 802 having a paging app 803 and called (or terminating) partyunit 805 having a similar paging app 806. The called party unit can alsoinclude a voice paging list 808. Although the system 800 uses a gatewayMSC 706 that likely belongs to a carrier, the system 800 does notgenerally use the carrier's infrastructure to send and receive voicepaging information between the calling party unit 802 and the calledparty unit 805. Instead, voice paging packets using voice and other datausing IP protocol are sent to from the app 803 of the calling party unit802 to the app 806 of the called party unit 805 via a service box 804 asshown. The signaling using the IP protocol between the app 803, servicebox 804, and app 806 can include information for accepting a prompt fora voice page, rejecting a call, answering the call or for processing atiming out of the paging process.

System 800 can include some of the same infrastructure components foundin system 700 of FIG. 7 to process calls between wireless units andforward to voice mail. For example, system 800 can include theoriginating or calling party mobile subscriber unit 802 (MS-A)communicating with the called or terminating party mobile subscriberunit 805 (MS-B) via the gateway MSC 706 as well as via the originatingMSC 704 and the serving MSC 716. Note again that various communicationprotocols are used in this embodiment including voice paging, SS7, IP,and radio communication protocols. The Gateway MSC 706 queries theHLR/HSS 712 as necessary using SS7 signaling. If calls are rejected ordiverted to voice mail, then the gateway MSC 706 can communicate voicemessages to the voice mail server 714.

In the App-to-App version diversion to voice mail occurs independentlyof the App 803 (and 806). Therefore, if the voice paging timer is settoo long, diversion to voice mail could occur before the voice paging iscompleted, which would be confusing and annoying. As noted above, theApp-to-App version can also use a method to convert from a phone number(MDN) to an IP address. The easiest way is to use the “Service Box” 804with a known domain name/IP address in the network where all downloadedApps can register their associated MDN (external phone number) and IMSI(wireless network identifier). This introduces security issues (e.g.spam to people with known MDN), but security measures can be taken toovercome such issues. Also note that in some embodiments the voice call(unanswered at the time of voice paging) and the voice paging should besynchronized. A positive signal from the terminating app 806 must bereceived before voice pages are transmitted. The Terminating Mobile 805should verify that the incoming call matches (e.g. via calling numberID) the voice paging information. This may require calling number id.

Those with ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that the elements inthe figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are notnecessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of theelements in the figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements,in order to improve the understanding of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that the various steps identified and describedabove may be varied, and that the order of steps may be adapted toparticular applications of the techniques disclosed herein. All suchvariations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope ofthis disclosure. As such, the depiction and/or description of an orderfor various steps should not be understood to require a particular orderof execution for those steps, unless required by a particularapplication, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferredembodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications andimprovements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention isnot to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood inthe broadest sense allowable by law.

All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication device, comprising: a audibleoutput device; a memory having computer instructions; and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory and the audible outputdevice, the execution of the computer instructions causing the one ormore processors to perform operations comprising: receiving signaling ofa call from a calling party that includes caller identificationinformation and a voice paging message associated with the calleridentification information; presenting the caller identificationinformation; and presenting the voice paging message as an alias of aring tone.
 2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein thecommunication device is a mobile phone.
 3. The communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the communication device is one among a landline phone,a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, or a phablet computer.
 4. The communication device of claim 1,wherein the voice paging message is recorded at the time of initiatingthe call to the called party by the calling party.
 5. The communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors presents the voicemessage recorded at the time of initiating the call to the called partyby the calling party as the alias for the ring tone presented at theaudible output device of the communication device.
 6. The communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions includeinstructions causing the one or more processors to send anacknowledgment signal to a mobile subscriber device of the calling partyvia a gateway mobile switching center in response to receiving the voicepaging message.
 7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein thecomputer instructions include instructions causing the one or moreprocessors to send an acknowledgment signal to a mobile subscriberdevice of the calling party via a serving Internet Protocol gateway anda mobile switching center in response to receiving the voice pagingmessage.
 8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computerinstructions include instructions causing the one or more processors toreceive one or more voice paging packets from a mobile subscriber deviceof the calling party via an originating Internet Protocol gateway. 9.The communication device of claim 8, wherein the computer instructionsinclude instructions causing the one or more processors to sendapplication signals from the communication device to the mobilesubscriber device of the calling party via the originating InternetProtocol gateway in response to the receipt of the one or more voicepaging packets.
 10. The communication device of claim 1, wherein thecomputer instructions include instructions causing the one or moreprocessors to discard or save the receipt of an on-going voice pagingmessage and to enter a live conversation with a mobile subscriber deviceof the calling party in response to receiving an answer signal at thecommunication device.
 11. The communication device of claim 1, whereinthe computer instructions include instructions causing the one or moreprocessors to ignore any voice paging information and to directly entera live conversation with a mobile subscriber device of the calling partyin response to receiving an answer signal at the communication devicebefore the voice paging signal starts playing at the communicationdevice.
 12. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computerinstructions include instructions to initiate a call with a voice pagingpermission request and receipt of a prompt for receipt of a voice paginginput in response to the voice paging permission request.
 13. Thecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the computer instructionsinclude instructions causing the time compression of the voice pagingmessage while preserving an original pitch of the voice paging message.14. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computerinstructions include instructions creating an interface with socialmedia that causes the acoustical output of social media text at thecommunication device via a text to speech engine.
 15. The communicationdevice of claim 1, further comprising a text-to-speech engine thatconverts a received email, a received text, or a received amber alert toan acoustic output from the audible output device of the communicationdevice.
 16. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising amicrophone and computer instructions automatically enabling themicrophone when receiving the voice paging message and enable a mobilesubscriber device of the calling party to hear audible inputs at themicrophone even though the called party has not answered communicationdevice.
 17. The communication device of claim 1, further comprisingcomputer instructions causing a play of the voice paging message at alower volume level than a final volume level wherein the volume levelrises during the play of the voice paging message.
 18. A method at acommunication device, comprising: receiving a call from a calling partythat includes caller identification information and a voice pagingmessage associated with the caller identification information;presenting the caller identification information via a presentationdevice operatively coupled to the communication device; and presentingvia the presentation device the voice paging message as an alias to aring tone or interleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ringtone in a repeating cycle until the call from the calling party isanswered or rejected.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the methodpresents the voice paging message obtained at the time of initiating thecall to the called party by the calling party as the alias for the ringtone presented at the presentation device for the communication device.20. A system for communicating with a communication device that presentsa ring tone alias and caller identification information, comprising: amemory having computer instructions; and one or more processorsoperatively coupled to the memory, the execution of the computerinstructions causing the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: originating a call from a calling party to a called partythat includes caller identification information and a message having avoice paging message associated with the caller identificationinformation obtained at a time of the call origination; transmitting thecaller identification information and the voice paging message to thecalled party for presentation at the communication device of the calledparty; and wherein the caller identification information and the voicepaging message is presented at the communication device of the calledparty as an alias to the ring tone or interleaved with the ring tone orpresented with the ring tone in a repeating cycle until the call fromthe calling party is answered or rejected.